Friday, September 9, 2011

Three Games to Watch Outside of Orlando

Posted by
DL

Not making the trip to Orlando with Doug? Then you have a full day of games to pick from to keep you entertained until the 8pm kickoff tomorrow. Here's three worth watching:

Iowa at Iowa State (12:00, Fox Sports) - The best reason to bring up this game is that Midwestern Nativity scene that was proposed to replace the ugly-but-now-in-comparison-not-so-ugly original CyHawk trophy. While the pewter/corn/heartwearming-goodness version has been scrapped, there still is plenty of pride on the line between these two squads. It also seems to be an interesting stage in the rivalry as the Cyclones are either going to end up in the mid-major+Texas version of the BigXII or be one of the lost puppies of conference expansion.

#3 Alabama at #23 Penn State (3:30, ABC) - In the first half of this home-and-home last year in Tuscaloosa, Alabama suffocated the Nittany Lions to the tune of 24-3. This year, there are more question marks around the Penn State offense and the Tide's defense may somehow have gotten better. Alternate between Yuengling and Moonshine and get your afternoon going right for this one - should at least be a fun one to watch a la LSU/Oregon.

#12 South Carolina at Georgia (3:30, ESPN) - Depending on which report you read, Georgia either got destroyed by Boise State last week or humiliated. Things don't get easier: the defending SEC East champion Gamecocks come to town and the SEC season starts for real. When the Bama/Penn State game turns into a blowout, flip over to ESPN to watch this one. Georgia coach Mark Richt could truly be running out of time in Athens.